Due to the Detroit Tigers’ two-game victory in the AL Wild Card series and the departure of former manager AJ Hinch, the Houston Astros’ postseason campaign came to an end without a victory. Such a triumph had to feel good, as Hinch was famously sacked following the Houston sign-stealing controversy.
FanSided’s Cody Williams penned a similar list of Houston’s free agents to be following their AL Wild Card Series loss to Detroit, highlighting four players who won’t be back. Caleb Ferguson, Jason Heyward, Justin Verlander, and Alex Bregman are those players. Bregman and Verlander are easily the two most noticeable players on that list, and understandably so. Bregman has been a part of the Houston World Series from its inception, and both have won them. Jose Altuve, a longtime teammate, has begged the Astros executive office to keep him around.
However, Verlander still believes he has something left in him. Father time has not been kind to JV; in 2024, he struggled with injuries.Verlander is unlikely to return to the Astros next year for various reasons, but he’ll have to accept a wage cut to play someplace, as he’s no longer the Cy Young champion we once knew.
Even though such absences will be noticed, they are not the only ones. The Astros of 2025 will appear very different.
3. Due to his injuries, Kendall Graveman won’t be able to continue in Houston.
At the 2023 trade deadline, the Astros acquired Kendall Graveman, who quickly turned in 23 outings at a 2.42 ERA. His shoulder trouble prevented him from pitching in the 2023 postseason, which is unfortunate for the Astros. This injury status was a major factor in Houston’s decision to pay a high price for Josh Hader last winter.
Graveman has established himself as one of the top relievers in the game when healthy. This offseason, he becomes a free agent as well, and with the amount of money Houston has already committed to their bullpen, it seems unlikely that Dana Brown will be able to sign a big contract with Graveman. Graveman did not sound very positive when asked about his future in January, and he missed the entire season.
It’s difficult to miss a season no matter who you are with or what it is, Graveman remarked. I’ve done it before, but it wasn’t very enjoyable. When I had Tommy John surgery in 2018, I will admit that I had grown a lot during that season. I think I came out of it better, but it’s tough in this circumstance, knowing the team, and I genuinely respect all the guys and think there’s a wonderful thing going in Houston.”
Due to his past injuries, Graveman is a risk that Houston cannot afford to take on.
2. Although Ben Gamel was a flyer, the Astros need to bench him.
The Astros took a risk on Ben Gamel in September after Kyle Tucker’s injury kept him out longer than planned. Gamel’s at-bats thrilled Joe Espada and company, but he isn’t productive enough to be a long-term member of a contending team. The Mets put him on waivers in the first place for a purpose.
Regarding playing in Houston, Gamel remarked, “You’ve been in tiny market, huge market, kind of everything in between.” And it seems like you just buy in when you enter this clubhouse. The truly skilled baseball players at the top of this lineup set the pace; we just need to kind of follow suit. I know I say this a lot.
Gamel posted an OPS of.717 in 38 games after the Astros offered him some at-bats. That might be good enough to get some playing time on a terrible team, and going into free agency, Gamel should be aiming for that.
1. Although not with the Astros, Yusei Kikuchi has earned a large contract.
Yusei Kikuchi, a former Blue Jay, was perhaps the Astros’ greatest pitcher towards the end of the season, despite the team taking a lot of flak for sending a large haul of prospects to Toronto in exchange. After being acquired, Kikuchi was 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA for the Astros. Even while Houston supporters would much rather see him return, he is also a free agent this winter and probably already has one foot out the door.
“Yusei had a pretty fantastic run with us, and we’re not ruling out any choices to make this club better,” Brown stated. “We knew how amazing and receptive he was with us when he pitched here, but our rotation is going to be quite stacked since a lot of those players are coming back.”
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Despite the fact that many Astros players have missed time due to injuries this season, Brown maintains faith in the team’s depth. They can afford to give Kikuchi what he deserves since he can ride his strong second half to a good contract in free agency, especially with those players back.
“In order to potentially save some money here and then spend that money elsewhere, we’ll need to make some smart judgments about which younger players we can call up and assign to specific positions.” Brown continued. “I believe those kinds of conversations are in store for us.”
Even with his increased value over the last several months, Kikuchi doesn’t seem to be a part of those discussions.
